Disclaimer: I own nothing
"YOU AINT MY REAL DAD!" Danny had shouted, and slammed the door in Rafe's stunned face.
It had been just a fight – there weren't many fights in the McCawley household, but there were unwritten rules:
No fighting about money. There was hardly any, so it shouldn't be yelled about.
No yelling at Evelyn. She ran the house, did most of the work, looked after the kids and kept things running. No one was to yell at her.
No throwing things or using fists. Anything that could potentially harm someone was out.
No mentioning Danny's dad in a raised voice.
Rafe had been adamant about the last one. Anyone who spoke badly of Daniel Walker got in a lot of trouble.
But tonight, Danny had been mentioned, yelled about, and brought up in a way that almost broke Rafe's heart.
He stood motionless at the door for a few moments after Danny's sudden rage outburst, and Evelyn burst into tears.
After a few moments, Rafe walked away from the door slowly and sat on the couch, staring at the corner of the couch opposite, not really seeing it at all.
Evelyn contained herself.
"DANIEL McCAWLEY!" she shouted, stamping her feet on the way upstairs and banging her fist on the firm wooden door. "GET OUT HERE NOW!" she demanded. Rafe looked up and stood, and made his way over to his wife slowly.
There was silence, then a note slipped under the door.
It read:
Mum and Rafe.
I'm sorry I caused so much trouble for you these years. I'm 16 now. I'll move away from home.
Sincerely,
Danny.
P.S. Don't try to look me up. I'll change my name
"DANIEL!" Evelyn shouted. "YOU WILL NOT MOVE AWAY FROM HOME! YOUR FATHER AND I FORB-"
"HE'S NOT MY FATHER!" Danny shouted back.
Rafe knocked lightly on the solid wood.
"Danny, you don't have to come out, but let me in," he said quietly.
"I don't want to even talk to her! What makes you think I want to speak to you?" he asked.
"You mentioned changing your name. I want to give you some options."
"Rafe!" Evelyn said. Rafe just grabbed her hand and squeezed it before the wooden door creaked open a little.
"Just you," he said, and Rafe entered his son's room.
"Son – I… I mean Danny," Rafe started, sitting on the edge of Danny's bed. A suitcase lay open and half filled taking up a substantial amount of the room on the floor.
"I'm gunna pack while you talk," Danny said.
"Danny, do you hate me that much?" Rafe asked. "Do you hate me so much you want to lose my name and all connections to me?"
"You're not my father," Danny said quietly.
"To hell with it I'm not! I raised you, Daniel. I married your mama when she was pregnant with you, I taught you to fly, I helped you walk and run and swim, I taught you to hunt and talk. You're my son, and I love you like my own, Danny, but if you hate me that much, I'll allow you to change your name."
"You would?" Danny asked.
"Yeah," Rafe said. "If you really don't want to be my son. You could change your name legally right now, if you wanted."
"You're kidding?" Danny wanted to know.
"Nope. See, Danny, I married your mama when she was pregnant with you, and she took my name. So any children she were to have after the ceremony were legally McCawleys, no matter who their father was. Unless he filed for custody. And depending on your age and maturity level, if your father filed for custody, but you wanted to keep my name, the judge might let you," Rafe began.
"Yeah but none of that applies to me. My father can't file for custody of me, and I want to change my name," Danny said.
"It does to apply to you! You're legally a McCawley because your mother married me before you were born and she changed her name. You following?" Rafe asked.
"Yeah, but I don't see why I need to kno-" Danny began.
"You need to know because you need to know why you're a McCawley!" Rafe said. "Now, right here and now, you could change to be a Johnson, cause that was your mama's name before she got married."
"Really? No pieces of paper or judges?" Danny asked.
"No sweat. Kids do it all the time. But since this thing don't seem to be about your mama, it's about your daddy, I thought you might like to know that also right here and now, you could change your name to Walker."
"What?" Danny asked.
"Your mama might have married me, but on your birth certificate, on the line that says 'father' it says Pilot officer of the US Army Captain-"
"Rafael McCawley," Danny intervened.
"No, actually. On your birth certificate, it says Pilot officer of the United States Army Captain Daniel Walker, deceased," Rafe said.
"You're really kidding this time," Danny said.
"Nope. Your mama and I got it up with Via's and Landon's."
"Does their's say their dad is Daniel Walker?" Danny asked.
"No," Rafe said. "Because Danny aint their daddy. I am. It's a legal document, son, and your biological father is Daniel Walker, and no matter how much I take your huntin' or flyin', your biological father is, and will stay, Daniel Walker. Not Rafael McCawley. They need to know who your daddy is incase you get hurt and need blood or somethin'. And for cases like this when you want to change your name."
"Oh," Danny said.
"Now, because Danny was an only child, you're the soul heir of the Walker family, and if you wanted, you could keep the name alive and change to Walker," Rafe offered.
"What about the McCawley name?" Danny asked.
"I didn't think you cared about us McCawley's no more. I thought you'd jump at the chance," Rafe said.
"Yeah… well… I been a McCawley… hate to see it…" Danny muttered.
"You've forgotten that you have a little brother, Danny. Remember? Landon? Small fella, my hair, your mama's eyes, sleeps on the bed on the other side of the room?" Rafe said, jerking his head towards the other bed. Danny glared. "Just checking. But Danny, if you want to be a Walker, you'd want to change attitudes right fast."
"Why?"
"Cause you aint actin' like a Walker," Rafe said. "Walkers are strong and loyal and good."
"He stole the woman you love," Danny chastised.
"I was dead, Danny," Rafe said.
"No you wasn't," Danny said.
"As far as they knew I was," Rafe said. "If anythin', Danny was lookin' after her for me. Makin' sure she din't get hurt or beat up by some other feller."
"But… your best friend and your soul mate! Shouldn't they'a known? Sensed it or somethin'?"
Rafe let out a deep laugh. "This aint a movie, Danny. They aint got a sixth sense. When I saw your mama again when I got back, she said 'you died, Rafe. So did I,'," Rafe said.
"So?"
"She went numb. Couldn't feel anything. Not even any love I might have been sendin' to her across half the world."
"But… but what about…" Danny trailed off.
"Danny?" Rafe asked. Danny junior nodded. "He thought I was dead. Your mama saved his life."
"He's not alive now, is he?" Danny sneered.
"Do not underestimate the power of your mama, boy. She saved him durin' the hardest time-a his life. You don't understand it. His daddy used to beat him down a lot. Really beat him. Like somethin' that aint aloud in this house, plus all the mental stuff. That caused this big chain reaction – he couldn't trust no one at all. No one cept me. He was shy all his life. His mama died when he was just a little tyke – bit younger than Via, so about eight, and she'd been the one who protected him. After his 18th birthday we ran away n joined the army. He was never able to trust anyone who aint never let him down, though, even though his daddy was far out the picture."
"Really? He didn't trust no one?" Danny asked.
"No one that aint been in this house. Never did. Didn't trust anyone in our barracks. Kept a huge lock on all his things n had to sleep next to the wall and next to me."
"Wow. Paranoid," Danny said.
"No, son, let down one too many times."
"Would I be lettin' him down?" Danny asked. "Not takin' his name?"
"Son, he'd like you to be happy. And while I'm sure he'd love you to take his name, I think he'd also be proud of you if you kept mine."
"But would I be lettin' him down?" Danny asked.
"Maybe. I aint gunna lie to ya. He wanted kids, Danny, and he loved your mama, and to see me raising his flesh and blood from your mama's flesh and blood would make him prouder 'n your mama when you graduate."
"You're not answering my question."
"I don't know, Danny. I don't know. I think he'd like you to take his name, but I don't think you'd be lettin' him down if you didn't."
"Why do you think that?"
"He was the proudest man I know. The best friend, I ever knew, or ever will know. I know he's watchin' us now, Danny, and I know he's already proud of you. And when you graduate and go off to college or to a job, he's gunna be proud of you, no matter what name you take with you along the way."
"I'm gunna be a pilot," Danny revealed. Rafe smiled.
"Not like you," he said, hitting him with a pillow, laughing. "Like Danny. Like my dad. He was a pilot."
"I know, Danny, I was there. I was there the day he enlisted. I enlisted that day, too. I was there when he got his medicals, when he graduated officer school and piloting. I was up there beside him."
"Do you miss him an awful lot?"
"All the time, Danny. All the time. But I see him in you, so it's not so bad."